Have a vanity Pa. license plate? Be prepared to pay a lot more

Get ready to pay a little more to keep your car on the road in Pennsylvania. How much? Well, if you have a vanity plate, your cost to display that pithy comment goes from $20 to $76.

Vehicle registrations, drivers’ license renewals and dozens of other fees imposed by the state Department of Transportation will increase Tuesday. The fee increases were one of the major funding components — along with an increase in the state’s taxes on gasoline — included in the $2.3 billion transportation infrastructure bill passed by the General Assembly last year.

The money for Pennsylvania’s new $2.3 billion transportation infrastructure plan doesn’t fall from the sky.

Registration fees for cars and motorcycles are increasing by $1 on April 1, while registration fees for pick-ups will climb by $1.50. Further increases are planned for 2017 with annual increases tied to inflation in subsequent years.

Bigger increases will hit in other areas. The cost for a certificate of title will jump to $50 from the current fee of $22.50, while certified copies of PennDOT records will jump by 400 percent to $22 from the current $5 fee.

And don’t lose your drivers’ license. The old fee for a replacement was only $5, but it will now cost $19.

Other fees will increase in July.

Drivers who want to display a special message with their license plate should get their applications in soon. Vanity plates will cost $76 after July 1, compared to $20 now.

According to the governor’s Transportation Advisory Commission, the average Pennsylvania driver can expect to pay $22 more this year and $132 more in 2018, when all the fee and tax increases hit their high-water marks. The commission’s 2011 report formed the basis for the transportation plan passed last year.

Boehm is a reporter for PA Independent and can be reached at Eric@PAIndependent.com. Follow @PAIndependent on Twitter for more.